5 Awesome Tips to Grow Your Snow Plowing Business This Winter

Winter is coming!

While this catchphrase is enough to get the Game of Thrones fans all excited, they are not the only ones. For those running a snow plowing business, these words sound like a sweet, sweet bell ringing afar. This is the time they look forward to throughout the year.

Having said that, most snow plowing companies face a hard time making a decent profit. But that is not impossible. Despite being a seasonal business, snow removal can earn you a fortune. So, how do you take your business to the next level?

Simple! Sign Up for Field Promax Snow Plowing Business Software Today.

According to the latest Snow Industry Benchmark Report, only 4% of the total survey respondents state that they run solely as a snow plowing company, and snow plowing constitutes only about 30% of their annual revenue. Evidently, it is at best a side business for most people. But what if we tell you that snow plowing could be a very profitable business idea, even for someone with a small budget?

That’s right. If you play your cards right and follow the right strategies, you can earn insane profits by offering snow plowing services. So, here are some pocket-friendly, yet effective strategies that will help you grow your business.

Table of Contents

1. Invest in Automation

This is perhaps the smartest thing you can do to grow your business. As such, they are the demand of the hour. If you are still using traditional paper-based systems instead of automated ones, you are losing a serious competitive advantage in today’s digital age.

With the advent of modern technology, the traditional way of doing business has radically transformed. Today. It is no secret that software help businesses grow by enabling them to create a more efficient process that helps them consistently deliver better services. The same can be said for snow removal businesses as well. By choosing automation, you can standardize and streamline your business processes making your operations more efficient, which, in turn, leads to increased performance and profitability.

The current marketplace offers a wide range of software solutions to cater to your various business needs. But the buck does not stop here. Innovators have come up with tailor-made software solutions specifically designed for snow plowing companies. They take care of all your business operations, including scheduling, dispatching, reporting, monitoring, tracking, estimating, billing, invoicing, and more.

Recent reports state that nearly 45% of agencies using software increased their revenue by more than 20%. Also, 92% software using companies scaled their profit as compared to only 73% of organizations that don’t leverage any software.

From these results, the importance of implementing software in a snow removal business becomes as clear as daylight. So, if you don’t want to miss out, this is the time to switch to automation and choose the best snow plowing business software for your company.

Learn How Field Promax Can Meet All Your Automation Needs. Book A Free Demo Now!

2. Make A Better Marketing Strategy

After automation, the second most important business strategy in today’s time concerns marketing. This is the key to building a strong brand identity and attracting more customers. In this regard, you might want to consider a few things to chalk out the best marketing strategy for your company.

Market Segmentation: First of all, identify your potential customers. In order to grow your business, it is important to know your market and design your marketing campaign accordingly.
Social Media: Once you have figured out your target audience, decide on the channels you want to reach and communicate with them. While putting up hoardings, distributing flyers, or relying on word of mouth could be sufficient for a small, local business, this is not going to be enough if you really want to grow your business. Try social media instead. Build a strong online presence, utilize social networking sites to reach more potential customers, and design an unforgettable campaign to create a lasting impact on their minds.
Advertise on Time: Marketing your snow plow business is all about timing. Therefore, be sure to start advertising just on time. According to experts, mid-September is the best time to start promoting your snow removal services because you will be on top of mind when potential customers are focused on preparing their yards for winter. This way you will become the go-to and one-stop-shop for your clients.

3. Make a Service List and Review Your Prices

Preparing a list of services and reviewing your pricing strategy in the fall will help you determine how much to charge for snow removal. Before your season starts, make a list of the snow removal services you’ll offer. This list can help you with setting your prices and creating estimates for potential customers. Once you have your service list, decide on a pricing strategy. The most common pricing methods for snow removal are by property, by inch, per month or fixed contracts.

To grow your business, however, your ultimate pricing strategy is to be competitive and profitable. Ask yourself a few “yes” or “no” questions to determine if it’s the right time to raise your rates.

Have your snow plowing business expenses increased?
Do you have an average quote closing rate above 50%?
Do you have more job orders than you can manage?
Are your prices aligned with your net value?

If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, chances are it’s time for an update.

4. Optimize Resources

To grow your business, you must make the best use of your equipment and technicians to make the most of your investment. There are snow professionals that turn a profit with just one plow truck while others that have multiple trucks, skid steers, front loaders, and whatnot.

Evidently, with more equipment, you can offer more services — which is a great way to grow your business. But not all companies have the budget or capacity to go on a shopping spree before the season starts.

The smart move, however, will be to start thinking about what you have, and then figure out what is still a need. While there are thousands of different products, you need to decide what is going to be the best fit for you and the jobs you plan on tackling in the coming season.

5. Be Prepared to Make Decisions On the Go

Unlike other field service businesses, there isn’t a set schedule for plowing. Snow events happen at all hours of the day and night. You could go weeks without any work and then a larger snow event might hit and you could be working for two days straight. It can be difficult to plan your routes to make the most efficient use of your time.

Certain jobs might have different snow depth triggers as well, so you might have to make changes to your routes on the fly. Some people will want their property plowed if there is any snow and others might want you to come out only after a few inches have fallen. This is difficult to manage unless you are using snow plowing business software. It comes with a dedicated mobile app that enables you to monitor and take control of your operations from anywhere, at any time.

Final Words

Snow removal is an unpredictable industry, you never know when the first snow will hit. Mother nature may be out of your control, but getting your business ready in the fall can help you keep your cash flow predictably steady. Instead of scrambling mid-season, you’ll be on top of your game.

Having said that, it is important to find your edge if you want to stay ahead of the competition and make some profit. Most companies offer the same snow plowing services and do things exactly the same way. With so much competition, you need to find your USP to stand apart from the crowd.

This is why you need to ensure you offer the best-in-class customer experience. And nothing can help you better than digital tools. So, check out Field Promax as the best snow plowing business software and use the latest features to your advantage.